Volksjager; The people's fighter

The He-162 Volksjager (also referred to as Salamander)  was a jet fighter designed by Heinkel for the Luftwaffe.  Short on resources and skilled pilots, the Germans needed a high performance, easy to fly fighter that could be constructed on the cheap.  The Volksjager could be built by unskilled workers with non-strategic resources.

The advantage of the Volksjager was it's ease of use matched with unbeatable speed (the BMW engine could reach around 520 miles per hour).  The "People's Fighter" was to be mass produced and introduced to the Hitler Youth, who after a brief training, could fly the easy to manage plane.

 

 Production of the Volksjager began in bomb-proof underground bunkers (below),  though at this point the war was past the turning point for the Nazis, and the impact of Luftwaffe jets was trivial.

Despite it's multiple flaws (such as inferior glue used on the wooden frame that would often give out on take off) The Volksjager was ahead of it's time, and would later be used as point of reference as the allies designed and built their own jet fighters.

Thankfully the He-162 Volksjager never took hold...  I think we're better off with the Volkswagen, anyhow.